After last weekend’s upset losses by Alabama and Miami I jotted down my thoughts on who should be in the college football playoff as well as which teams I’d still have in contention. My top four were Clemson, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, & Auburn, with Georgia & Alabama right there ready to pounce and Miami & Ohio St. still having an outside shot. The playoff committee looked at things a little differently. They also have Clemson #1, but like Auburn a couple of spots higher than me, with Oklahoma & Wisconsin one spot lower. They also have Alabama & Georgia knocking on the door, just flipped, and Miami & Ohio St. exactly where I had them. So the same eight teams, in slightly different order. Speaking of last weekend, Zach was 3-4, while I bested him by one game at 4-3. I’m really glad we had UCF-South Florida as one of our games, not because I won (UCF didn’t cover the points) but because it was so much fun to watch. Ohio State failed to cover as well…by half a freakin’ point…which worked out well for Zach. Anyway, we now move on to conference championship week and what are essentially playoff quarterfinal games. Four of the five major conference title game outcomes will have a direct effect on the playoff, which is pretty gosh darn cool for football fans. These will be the last college games we pick this season since the only thing remaining on the schedule is next week’s Army-Navy game. We’ll do our usual Bowl-a-Palooza, but that is a separate deal. Enjoy this weekend’s lineup…it could be really entertaining.
My Season: 42-39
Z’s Season: 42-39
Stanford vs USC (-3)
Pac 12 Championship (Santa Clara, CA)
Neither one of these teams are getting into the playoff, and since the Rose Bowl is one of the playoff games the winner won’t go there either (one
of the issues I have with the current system…a topic to be addressed some other time). But the winner will be a conference champ and be playing somewhere…presumably the Fiesta Bowl. Stanford is 9-3 and riding a three game win streak, while the Trojans are 10-2, have won four games in a row, and beat Stanford by nearly three TDs in the second game of the season. This is a Friday night game at the 49ers stadium just outside of San Francisco, so there is no home field advantage. I really don’t know what to expect, but The Vibes are leaning toward USC. Zach likes what Stanford has accomplished thus far and believes they’ll hang tough throughout this game, pulling out a victory in the fourth quarter.
My Pick: Southern Cal
Z’s Pick: Stanford
TCU vs Oklahoma (-7)
Big 12 Championship (Arlington, TX)
The Big 12 only has ten teams and has never had a title game, but y’all know money talks so here we are with a rematch of the top two teams in the conference. Not only 
are the Sooners guaranteed a playoff spot with a victory, they also beat the Horned Frogs by 18 points just a few weeks ago. I see no reason to think this game will go any differently unless Oklahoma QB Baker Mayfield kills or rapes someone, in which case he’d probably be suspended for the first quarter and have to lead his team to a slightly less dominant mauling of TCU. Zach concurs.
My Pick: Oklahoma
Z’s Pick: Oklahoma
Georgia vs Auburn (-3)
SEC Championship (Atlanta, GA)
It’s pretty simple for these two teams…win and you’re in the playoff. The committee has Auburn ranked #2, which is a couple of spots higher 
than I’d have thought, but at this point it doesn’t really matter. The only thing that’s important is being one of those final four teams. The Bulldogs were the top team in the country not that long ago, but stubbed their toe against…you guessed it…Auburn. So this is a rematch of a game that took place about three weeks ago in which the Tigers dominated by more than three TDs. There is some discussion that Auburn could still get into the playoff even if they lose this game, but I don’t think that would happen, and more importantly I don’t believe it will be an issue. Zach points out the difficulty of beating the same team twice in one season and thinks Georgia will score the upset.
My Pick: Auburn
Z’s Pick: Georgia
Miami vs Clemson (-8.5)
ACC Championship (Charlotte, NC)
Both the playoff committee and yours truly rank the Tigers #1. The Hurricanes were in the playoff until screwing the pooch against Pitt last weekend, so now they find 
themselves in an uphill battle to get back in even with a victory in this game, although one would have to assume defeating the #1 team in the country would be too impressive to overlook. Still, their early season schedule is weak and the Pitt defeat isn’t a “good loss” (I really hate that terminology), so if you want playoff debate & chaos Miami upsetting Clemson would be a great place to start. One might consider the possibility that Clemson could still make the playoff even with a loss, which would further stir the pot. I had the defending national champs as my #1 team in the pre-season and I see no reason to jump off that particular steamroller now. Zach wasn’t surprised by Miami’s loss to Pitt but believes they’ll bounce back to play a competitive game. However he likes Clemson to score the victory.
My Pick: Clemson
Z’s Pick: Clemson
Ohio State (-5.5) vs Wisconsin
Big Ten Championship (Indianapolis, IN)
I kind of feel sorry for Wisconsin. Though they are undefeated they’re receiving very little respect. I grew up in an era when a win guaranteed moving up or atleast the team holding onto their ranking, a loss meant they’d now be ranked lower or maybe not at all, and being undefeated was something significant. Sadly that isn’t the case anymore. Sports suffers from paralysis by analysis because we have the technology to dissect every second of every game and way too many talking heads on ESPN, FSI, 
& plethora of other outlets who make big money scrutinizing things from every angle to the point that undefeated isn’t necessarily indicative of 
anything special. Basically what that boils down to is that the Badgers have to win this game to even slink into the back door of the playoff. Conversely, the 10-2 Buckeyes are actually favored in this game and still have playoff aspirations. Currently ranked #8, they’d need a whole lot of dominoes to fall their way, and I don’t think that’s going to happen. Maybe they’ll end up playing USC in a “What the hell happened to our traditional Rose Bowl invitation??” game where the announcers can dwell regretfully on Ohio St.’s inexplicable meltdown against Iowa and the Trojans’ losses to what turned out to be vastly overrated Notre Dame & Washington State. At any rate, I think Ohio St. wins the Big Ten title and Alabama ends up in the playoff and probably the national title game. Zach likes the size of Wisconsin’s lines. He believes that advantage might be enough to wear down the Buckeyes and snag a close win for Wisconsin.
My Pick: Ohio State
Z’s Pick: Wisconsin
A big chunk of 2016 here at The Manofesto was dedicated to 
project by Christmas Eve. That gives us less than a month to discuss & appreciate 64 films & TV specials. Yes, that’s right…I am making this an all-inclusive battle royale comprised of Christmas movies, animated television specials, & even a few nods to Thanksgiving and Hanukkah. It just feels like the right thing to do.
Each film or show has been placed into one of four divisions: Candy Cane, Eggnog, Mistletoe, & North Pole. Choosing the
entrants for this tournament was a tougher task than I’d imagined. Probably ¾ of the choices were obvious, but others…not so much. However I don’t think the final pool leaves considerable room for debate. That 
being said, if I have left out one of your favorites please let me know. I always enjoy feedback from The Manoverse.
received from critics, with 60-100% being “fresh”, and 59% or below being “rotten”. In some cases, particularly with animated television specials, no Rotten Tomatoes score is available, and in a few instances there are no critical reviews but an audience score is given. I don’t pay too much attention to these scores because oftentimes critics can be somewhat highbrow and not at all in touch with what most folks enjoy, but they are a useful tool in some situations. Also, I have included the name of the director, but what I find interesting is that not a lot of bigtime film raconteurs have helmed holiday themed films. These movies that so many of us love don’t seem to be all that respected by the Hollywood literati. Perhaps it is indicative of a general Godlessness, or maybe, because of preconceived notions of what a Christmas movie should be, creative “geniuses” find the parameters stifling. Whatever the case may be, with few exceptions the general achievements…or lack thereof…of the director outside of the film being discussed has very little bearing on the outcome.
I adore Christmas movies, and since you’re here reading this I assume you do as well. So, let us spend this holiday season on a journey together…a quest to pay respect to and express admiration for films & specials that have stood the test of time, with the ultimate goal of narrowing the field and crowning one winner as the merriest movie of them all. Adeste Fideles. Feliz Navidad. Buon Natale. And God bless us…everyone.
In my pre-season poll I predicted that it’d be the Bulls who would reign supreme among the “non-power” teams, but it’s the undefeated Knights 
who have emerged at the top of that particular heap. USF isn’t far behind though, and with a victory could catapult themselves into a New Year’s bowl game against a “power” opponent. The winner of this game will face Memphis in the AAC title game. I’m pretty stubborn when it comes to sticking with my pre-season picks, and it’s not as if 9-1 USF is a bad team. The two campuses are less than a hundred miles apart, so I don’t think the home field advantage is much of a factor. Kickoff is on Black Friday afternoon, and I’ll be glad to be home cheering for the Bulls rather than fighting crowds at a shopping mall. Zach likes UCF head coach Scott Frost (who’s probably leaving soon for Nebraska), so he’s going with the favorites.
Lamar Jackson took the NCAA by storm en route to winning the Heisman Trophy, but they’ve still had a nice season. The Wildcats are also 7-4 with impressive wins over Tennessee and South Carolina. Kentucky has the home field and the double digit points are a bit much in my opinion, so I’m leaning toward the underdogs. Zach concurs.
must win to even become bowl eligible, a circumstance they’re certainly not accustomed to in Tallahassee. The Gators are also 4-6 and have already fired their coach. They have no chance at qualifying for a bowl unless the NCAA makes some kind of exception since an early season game was cancelled due to Hurricane Irma. What it all boils down to is that this is as close to post-season action as one or both of these teams might get, which makes it atleast somewhat interesting. Because the Seminoles still have a reasonable shot at being invited to a bowl game I have to give them the nod. Zach agrees.
bowl game. Stanford may or not be heading to next week’s Pac 12 championship, but at 8-3 will be playing somewhere in the post-season. This game doesn’t affect their conference situation either way, but pride, momentum, & bowl position are on the line. It feels like a toss-up to me, but I’m going to pick the home team to score the mild upset. Zach agrees.
meet USC next week based on their victory over Washington a couple of weeks ago. They call this game the Apple Cup, and when you peel away the hype and look at the core of the matchup the more fruitful offense belongs to Washington St., while Washington’s defense has a bit more juice. Ok…yeah…that was fun!! Anyway, The Vibes are telling me that Cougars’ QB Luke Falk…a potential first round NFL draft choice…will have a big day and lead his team to a huge win. Zach really likes State head coach Mike Leach and believes he will lead his team to victory.
playoff conversation or conference title contention, while the 9-2 Buckeyes will be playing in the Big Ten title game but are 9th in the playoff poll and would need a lot of dominoes to fall the right way. Still…it’s Ohio St.-Michigan. This IS college football. I’m not sure what exactly has gone wrong with the Wolverines this season, but I believe they are better than their record. The game is in The Big House in Ann Arbor, which is another factor to consider. Ohio St. is clearly the superior team and motivated by a lingering yet admittedly miniscule chance at a playoff spot so I think they’ll win, but what about the points?? The smart assumption is probably that it’ll be a closer game than the oddsmakers indicate, but sometimes one has to go big or go home. Zach’s opinion…in the interest of full accuracy…is “screw Ohio St”.
They call this the Iron Bowl because the city of Birmingham was a big producer of iron & steel back in the 70’s. More tangibly, this has become
one of the most anticipated annual games on the calendar because one or both teams are consistently near the top of the rankings and there is usually a lot riding on the outcome…this year is no exception. ‘Bama is the undefeated #1 team in the country and will secure a spot in the SEC title game with a victory. In my opinion if they make it that far they’ll be in the playoff win or lose. However, Auburn would take that SEC championship game spot and vault themselves into the playoff conversation with a victory. Tide head coach Nick Saban grew up in Monongah, WV which is about a half hour up the road from me, so most folks around here like to see him be successful, but as a football fan not only do I usually cheer for the underdog but I am also thoroughly bored with Alabama. Dynasties are only entertaining to fans of that particular team…everybody else is rooting for them to get knocked off. I also love chaos when it comes to the playoff because the methodology just doesn’t frost my cupcake. So that’s why I’ll be cheering for Auburn. Zach is fully invested in the Saban lovefest and thinks the Tide will roll by three TDs.
The spring of 2006 saw the beginning of one of the most difficult stretches of time in my life, a period that I refer to as My Unfortunate Incarceration. At the relatively young age of 33 an ulcer on my tailbone led to six months in a “skilled” nursing facility, a year completely homebound, surgery, another stay in a nursing facility, then some additional recovery time at home. All told, two years in the prime of my life passed by while I was unable to drive, work, or have any semblance of normalcy. During that time I watched ALOT of television. I watched TV shows that I may never have noticed otherwise. I recall watching just about every second of the 2006 NBA Playoffs. I developed an affinity for reruns of Ted Danson’s underrated sitcom Becker, which I had completely ignored during its run on CBS from 1998-2004. And at some point in this lonely, depressing, frustrating two year span I discovered a morning sports talk show called Mike & Mike in the Morning, which had premiered on the radio in January 2000 and began being simulcast on ESPN2 in 2004. I was a little late to the party but was almost instantly hooked.
Mike Golic had been a journeyman defensive lineman in the NFL during the late 1980’s & early 90’s. Mike Greenberg was 
amongst a plethora of virtually indistinguishable ESPN anchors. At best I was vaguely aware of the two. Like so many retired athletes Golic segued into sports media after his playing career was over and eventually landed at ESPN doing a morning radio show with a guy named Tony Bruno. Greenberg got his degree in journalism from Northwestern and spent a few years covering sports in Chicago during the latter half of Michael Jordan’s epic career before landing in Bristol. When Bruno abruptly left The Mothership Greeny was asked to fill in on the radio show, and the rest is history. The show grew into a powerhouse, with Greeny & Golic becoming household names (atleast to sports fans). They did commercials, wrote a book, appeared multiple times on Letterman, and dined with Presidents.
On a personal level Mike & Mike became a semi-regular part of my daily routine. Work schedules & sleep habits have changed a few times in the past decade, and I can’t honestly say that I have consistently been glued to my television every weekday for all four hours, but I made an effort to catch chunks of the show as often as life allowed. It has not been unusual for me to wake up or arrive home from work and immediately turn the television to ESPN2 to check out what Mike & Mike had to say about last night’s ballgame, the latest blockbuster
trade or unfortunate injury, and whatever else might be happening in the world of sports. On top of that we were regularly treated to discussions/debates/arguments about whether or not Die Hard is a Christmas movie (it is), the relative merits of Batman as a superhero (he is the BEST superhero), hilarious conversations about turkey giblets at Thanksgiving, & other pieces of The Mikes personalities that they willingly cast forth for public consumption. They integrated pop culture into their show without losing focus on sports and didn’t ignore big news stories yet never got bogged down with them. They made the annual NCAA March Madness basketball tournament even more enjoyable with their Sheets of Integrity Bracket Wager, which led to memorable moments like Greeny milking a cow and Golic getting his body waxed. From 2010 to 2013 they won the Sammy Award for Favorite TV Show during my annual fake awards year in review, something that may not mean anything to anybody else but which I assure you I take as seriously as almost anything I post here at The Manofesto.
or poetry reading as you would a sporting event, while Golic is the laid back, straight talking, pudgy tough guy that you’d hang out with in a mancave drinking beer & watching the ballgame. That kind of “opposites attract” formula has worked forever, from Laurel & Hardy and Abbott & Costello to Sherlock Holmes & Dr. Watson or Felix & Oscar in The Odd Couple.
A few years ago I read somewhere that the show was going to be relocating from Bristol, CT to New York City, which seemed odd. One important aspect of Mike & Mike had always been its plethora of guests, from various ESPN insiders to former players & coaches to guys like comedian Frank Caliendo. They had also made various members of their staff semi-famous by utilizing them in on-air segments, an idea popularized by David Letterman. Also, if I have had one criticism of Greeny & Golic over the years it is that they seemed to take copious amounts of time off, with one or the other or sometimes both missing days here & there. However that was never a huge issue because there was always a 
deep pool of talent on the ESPN campus to use as substitute hosts. How was all of that going to work if they transplanted the entire production to The Big Apple?? The story was never addressed by The Mikes on the program or anywhere else that I am aware of, and so the idea just kind of faded into the ether. I didn’t know if it had been a false rumor all along or if someone…possibly Greeny, Golic, or both…killed the plan. I’m a “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” kind of guy, so not moving the show was just fine by me. But then…..
About a year ago the rumors began swirling again, only this time it was being said that ESPN was ending the show altogether!! And it wasn’t one of those things that I had to question whether I had actually read it or not or if maybe I was losing my mind…the story was everywhere. At one point it was being said that the two had turned against each other and were no longer speaking, that their continued on-air interaction was just an excellent performance. That made me profoundly sad. Eventually The Mikes did address the situation on-air, announcing that Greeny was getting his own show in 2018 (emanating from NY City), and that Golic would continue on with a revamped version of the current show co-hosted by ESPN mainstay Trey Wingo. The situation was clearly uncomfortable for the two men, especially Golic. However, I came away with the impression that the two are legitimately on good terms and that these decisions were not made by them or motivated by any dislike, anger, or negativity.
I am still not clear on why the powers-that-be decided to make these moves. Perhaps it is kind of like splitting pairs in blackjack. Someone decided that these two guys are at the top of the ESPN food chain so why not have two shows instead of one. That makes sense to a degree, although as a fan I still hate it. Maybe I am wrong and Greeny did desire to move on. While Golic seems perfectly content to be doing just what he is doing and probably understands that as an ex-athlete co-hosting ESPN’s flagship show is a better outcome than he ever could have dreamed of, Greeny is a “journalist” who has a track record of side projects like writing a couple of novels and hosting game shows on ABC. Did he feel like his career had stagnated?? Did he feel the need to flex his professional muscles and do something different?? Or was this just another head-scratching decision by corporate types who seem hell bent on ruining the remarkable legacy of ESPN?? I don’t know the answers and no one is offering any further explanation. There will probably be a tell-all book in the future, but for now we’ll just have to wonder.
they always had. They continued to make us laugh and make us think. They dressed up for Halloween as in previous years (Mike & Mike always did Halloween right). The show has been early morning comfort food just as it always has been. I made more of an effort to tune in than I had been making for the past year or two because sometimes you don’t fully appreciate something until it’s gone, but fortunately in this case we all got to say a long goodbye.
And now it’s over. I’m an 80’s kid, and because of my physical 
limitations I have always leaned toward more sedentary pursuits like reading books & watching television. I believe there are two types of people in the world…TV People and Non-TV People. My friend & brother from another mother The Owl doesn’t even own a television and hasn’t cared about any show for decades. Conversely, I watch way too much television and have always had a special place in my heart for series finales, probably because I’m sentimental & hate change, so endings always kind of make me verklempt. I have seen a lot of fantastic TV shows come & go. The Cosby Show. Cheers. Dallas. Friends. Seinfeld. Mike & Mike joins an impressive lineup in the television graveyard.
like Trey Wingo well enough, and I’m sure that program will be entertaining…but it won’t be the same. Citizens of The Manoverse know of my fondness for The Andy Griffith Show and may recall that it ran for eight seasons in the 1960s. However, after Season 5 Don Knotts (aka Deputy Barney Fife) departed, and his exit happened to coincide with the show transitioning from black & white to color. It’s not that the final three seasons of TAGS aren’t good…but sans Knotts and produced in color they just aren’t as…enchanting…as the black & white episodes. It’s all about chemistry & balance, and I’m just not feeling the Golic & Wingo vibe quite yet. It’ll be an uphill climb to equal the impact of Mike & Mike. We’ll see.
find that combination appealing at all. I suppose I’ll check it out, but my initial reaction is that it sounds like a disaster waiting to happen. I could be wrong.
lives. In the grand scheme of life the fate of a silly little television show doesn’t amount to all that much. We certainly face more significant concerns. But for those of us who invested so many morning hours in Mike & Mike and looked forward to being entertained, informed, & briefly distracted from life’s bigger problems there is some degree of mourning. We don’t know why these changes have been made and 
would have preferred things remained the same. That’s not how it went down though. There is a maxim that says “don’t be sad because it’s over…be happy that it happened in the first place”, and I suppose that’ll have to suffice. Kudos to Greeny & Golic for almost two decades of excellence and best wishes for the new shows. Thank you, and goodbye.
Despite what NFL players might feel, as a fan I sort of like having football on Thursday nights, and I am especially excited about tonight since my Steelers are playing the Tennessee Titans. It’s a personal highlight during an otherwise prosaic football weekend. The college schedule is unappealing at best, with makeup games like Alabama vs. Mercer and Clemson vs. The Citadel littering the landscape due to hurricane issues a couple of months ago. I understand the various reasons (mostly financial) that those games are being played, but as a fan I’d almost rather they’d been cancelled altogether. At any rate, we forge ahead as best we can, and I can’t resist being slightly braggadocious coming off of a 5-0 week, something I’ve accomplished all too rarely over the years. Zach was 2-3 last week, which means that we are back to being even for the season and both of us have winning records. We’re leaning a little more on pro instead of college games this week, so we’ll see how that goes.
regular season game but they’ll be playing in the Pac 12 title game. Conversely, the 5-5 Bruins haven’t rebounded from a tough 2016 like I thought they would and are simply playing for bowl eligibility at this point. NFL scouts will be watching this game closely, as UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen and USC quarterback Sam Darnold could very well enter next spring’s draft and would likely both be first round picks. Having said that, football is a team game and USC is clearly the better team. The points make me a bit skittish, but I think they’ll cover. Since this is a rivalry game Zach believes it will be much closer than the oddsmakers think.
While no one was paying attention somehow the Rams have actually become a decent NFL team. 31 year old head coach Sean McVay has the 7-2 
Rams in first place in the NFC West and young QB Jared Goff suddenly looks worthy of having been a #1 overall draft pick. Not to be outdone, the Vikings are also 7-2 and leading the NFC North. Their quarterback situation is a little strange. Sam Bradford is injured (shocker), journeyman backup Case Keenum is starting, & former starter Teddy Bridgewater was recently activated after being on the shelf for nearly two years. Whatever they’re doing is working though. I haven’t followed these two teams enough this year to have any insightful commentary or expectations, but I do get the sense it might actually be a really fun game to watch. When in doubt I tend to favor the home team, and since I’m stubborn the Rams are going to have to show me a little more before I buy in. Zach calls this a coin flip game, although I’m not sure if he literally flipped a coin before deciding to pick the Rams.
while Dallas lagged three games behind?? At this moment (and things could change in an hour and change a half dozen times again before the weekend) word on the street is that Cowboys’ RB Zeke Elliott has decided to drop his legal battle and serve a six game suspension. I’m sure the fact that that’d get him back just in time for the playoffs with fresh legs had absolutely nothing to do with the decision. Of course the question is can they earn a wildcard berth?? It’s going to be really tough. Anyway, the Eagles are much better this season that I expected, and I see no reason to doubt them now. Zach agrees.
The Super Bowl Curse is real y’all!! After going 11-5 in 2016 and then pulling the most epic choke job in Super Bowl history the Falcons are 
really behind the eight ball as far as making the playoffs. They aren’t winning the NFC South and the wild card competition is fierce. Conversely, it’s business as usual for the 6-3 Seahawks, except for the fact that the Rams are much improved and lead the division by a game. If this game were being played in Atlanta I might have to ponder things a bit, but Seattle’s home field advantage is amongst the best in the NFL. Zach believes the loss of DB Richard Sherman will have a negative impact on the Seahawks and the Falcons will show flashes of their former glory.
It’s been a busy week so I am behind. That’s cool…I like being busy. At any rate, once again bonus picks weren’t a good idea, as I was 3-5 and Zach was only slightly better at 4-4. The college football playoff rankings remain the same at the top, although a few teams (most notably Penn St. & Ohio St.) have played themselves out of contention so the field is narrow. The NFL is a war of attrition on a scale I don’t recall seeing, with so many big stars out for the year with injuries. We’re going to do our best to stay / get back above .500, but it’s probably best if we take things slow with almost two months remaining in our season.
out of the college football playoff, but I suppose a conference title would be a nice consolation prize. On paper the Huskies are a better team, but Stanford does have the home field advantage and Heisman worthy running back Bryce Love. This is a late night game on Friday so I’ll be able to keep my eye on it at work. I’m going against the grain and with the home team underdogs. Zach is completely confused and believes Washington State coach Mike Leach is coaching in this game, which he is not. But anyway, he’s picking Washington…I think.
schedule (Utah St., Florida Atlantic, BYU) isn’t doing them any favors. The Hawkeyes are coming off of a surprising beatdown of Ohio St., and I think if this game were being played in Iowa I might have to ponder whether they could pull off a shocker two weeks in a row. However, with everything that’s at stake and the fact that the game is in Madison I don’t think the Badgers are going to mess things up. Zach is unimpressed by Wisconsin and thinks Iowa is good enough to get a second straight huge upset win.
this is the first time in a long time that the game has really mattered in the bigger picture. The Irish are a solid playoff entrant at the moment, but that could easily change with a loss. Conversely, the Hurricanes are on the outside looking in and have to get a victory. They’re going to be playing in the ACC title game regardless, but obviously a playoff berth is a bigger goal. A lot of folks say Miami hadn’t really played anyone until they beat Virginia Tech last week, and that may be a valid point. Notre Dame has had the tougher schedule…but not that much tougher unless you’re counting #1 Georgia, a game Notre Dame lost. I’m a sucker for home field advantage. I really do think it can make a difference, especially in college. That’s why I am leaning toward Miami. Zach concurs.
quarterback woes have doomed the 3-5 Broncos. I don’t know who’s starting behind center for Denver this week, but I don’t think it matters all that much. This is the Sunday night game on NBC, and since its being played in Mile High territory I guess there is always a chance it might be more fun & competitive than one might assume…but probably not. Zach believes the Pats will win big…possibly four TDs big.
Congratulations to the Houston Astros for winning their first World Series championship. I didn’t think I’d be all that interested in the Series this year, but a disaster was averted when Houston beat the New York Yankees in the ALCS because a Yankees-Dodgers World Series would’ve had zero appeal for me. I know that sounds strange, but as a sports fan I need an underdog, a little engine that could, to root for. I enjoy a good David vs. Goliath story. I realize that’s not how the real world works. In reality the bigger, better entity with more power, money, & influence wins the vast majority of the time in virtually all walks of life. However, part of the romance in sports is that sometimes the little guy actually wins, and that’s not just a fantasy birthed in 1976 with Rocky. In my opinion it’s kind of weak & uninspiring to jump on the Goliath bandwagon. Before this season the Astros hadn’t won a division title since 2001 and had only made the playoffs once since 2005. They’d played in just one World Series since the franchise’s inception in 1962, losing to the Chicago White Sox in 2005. In the past decade they’d had 
seven losing seasons, including a three year stretch from 2011-13 in which they were a combined 162-324. So even though Houston itself is the 4th largest city in America the Astros have never been among baseball’s elite…until now. It doesn’t hurt that the games themselves were really fun to watch, and anytime we get to a Game 7 in anything it’s pretty cool. I’m sure the L.A. Dodgers will be back in the thick of things next year. They’ll go out and buy a couple of bigtime free agents or make a blockbuster trade. Same with the Yankees. Second place isn’t good enough for such teams. They think that, because of their huge TV market and bottomless coffers, they’re entitled to a trophy. But all of that just makes me yawn.
Dear ESPN: Declining ratings for football has EVERYTHING to do with anthem protests and politics interfering with our enjoyment of sports. Y’all can try to spin things all you want, blaming injuries and weak teams to deflect from the controversy, but just as your ratings have deteriorated due to not-so-subtle sociopolitical propagandizing with which a sizeable portion of the audience disagrees, football is suffering for also promoting a provocative agenda unrelated to the sport that fans tune in to watch. These people are so insufferably full of themselves and impressed with their own intellect that they’ve become totally out of touch with the viewing public.
starts, and the Golden State Warriors have lost more games in the first few weeks of the season than they did before the end of November last year. Perhaps if players & coaches for those teams had spent the offseason appreciating their success and preparing for more of the same instead of flapping their gums and displaying their ignorance about real world issues they’d be winning more games right now. Sadly it is probable that all three teams will be just fine, make deep playoff runs, & battle for the NBA Championship, but I’d like nothing better than for them to struggle all season and make early playoff exits. Just as the NFL is learning, the NBA needs to eventually realize that we just want them to shut their pieholes and play ball.
It seems unlikely that the Big 12 Champion will get a spot in the playoff, but it is possible. So who will that champion be?? The 7-1 Horned Frogs 
are one of four teams battling for a spot in the conference title game, and they have a challenging stretch run, beginning with in-state rival Texas. The 4-4 Longhorns have shown signs of life this season, upsetting Iowa St. & Kansas St. and losing heartbreakers to USC, Oklahoma, & Oklahoma St. Texas could easily be 7-1. TCU has the home field advantage and is considered the better team by most, but Texas is…well, they’re Texas, even though it hasn’t seemed like it for awhile. The road back to supremacy in college football has to begin not only in the conference but within the state of Texas itself. They won’t win back respectability until they can defeat the teams they used to beat consistently. Does that process begin this week?? I think it might. Zach thinks TCU will bounce back after last week’s tough loss to Iowa St. He predicts that the Longhorns will stay close for awhile but the Horned Frogs will pull away in the second half.
I still despise these two teams. Their departure from the Big East eventually killed the conference and was a huge domino in all the upheaval 
we’ve seen in college football in the past decade. Having said that, it seems that both programs have rebounded from rough patches and are back amongst the better teams in the country. The 7-0 Hurricanes are 10th in the CFP rankings but have their two biggest games this week & next. A couple of huge wins and a loss by a team or two ahead of them could vault Miami into serious contention. The Hokies aren’t in the playoff discussion, but they could still get to the conference title game. That’d require a victory over the ‘Canes. It makes no logical sense that Tech is favored here, so I’m not really sure what the oddsmakers are thinking. Perhaps they know something that we don’t?? All I know is what I know, and it seems to me that the home team and the higher ranked team should also be the better team. Zach doesn’t believe that Miami has played a very challenging schedule (he’s not wrong) and will fall to their first legit opponent.
talking about the 6-2 Wildcats, who could play themselves into the Pac 12 title game, especially with a victory in this game. My burning hatred for former WVU coach Rich Fraudriguez has cooled a bit over the years, and I have to admit that his Arizona team is fun to watch. This one will be on ESPN Saturday night, which will make my night at work a little less tedious. I still think the Trojans are a better team, but are they seven points better?? Maybe not. Zach takes it a step further, predicting Arizona’s high-powered offense to score the winning TD late in the 4th quarter.
(correctly) as motivation, which is bad for all of the Tide’s opponents. The Bayou Bengals have had a low-key season after last year’s chaos, with a shocking loss to Troy the only thing that has caused a bit of concern. At 6-2 they still have an outside shot at making the SEC title game, but would need to defeat Alabama. If this game was being played in Baton Rouge I might be tempted to predict the outright upset, but it’s not. Still though…a three TD point spread?? The last six games in this rivalry have been won by the Tide, but only two of those victories have been by 21 points, so I’m going out on a limb by guessing that ‘Bama will win but won’t cover. Zach concurs.
chance to sneak into the playoff. The 7-1 Sooners have an early season victory over Ohio St. in their back pocket, and it’s pretty solid playoff collateral. The 7-1 Cowboys have a loss to TCU as a mark against them, but there’s no shame in that. In 
After a solid start the 4-4 Ravens have proven to be just as mediocre as we all thought they’d be. Of course in the NFL even average teams are 
pretty decent, just inconsistent. Conversely, the Titans haven’t been as good as I predicted, but at 4-3 are still leading an unexpectedly competitive division. So which Ravens team will show up in Nashville?? Either way I think Tennessee is better. It’ll probably be a low scoring, smashmouth type of game, but the home team will probably get a couple of big plays from QB Marcus Mariota to secure the victory. Zach disagrees. He believes the “good” Ravens will make an appearance and get a close win.
At 1-6 they aren’t getting anywhere near the playoffs unless they buy a ticket, which is quite a fall for team that won 11 games last season. Of course they’d had three straight losing seasons before that, so maybe 2016 was the mirage and this is the real New York Giants. It would be just like the NFL…parity and all that jazz…for the home team to score the upset. However, as tempting as it may be to overthink it to that extent I’m just going to make the obvious choice, and so is Zach.
interesting trivia. The modern day Chiefs are 6-2 and running away with the AFC West. Conversely the Cowboys are 4-3 and going to have a tough time securing a wildcard. Is RB Zeke Elliott playing this week?? Is he suspended or is the whole deal still be decided in court?? I don’t even know anymore. Dallas gets a small home field advantage, but this game is essentially a pick ‘em, which in my opinion is disrespectful to a clearly superior Kansas City team. I don’t think it’ll be much of a game. Zach concurs.
I’ve been thinking a lot about friendship lately. My father has always taught me that if a person is fortunate enough to have one true friend in their life they are blessed. I’ve agreed with him in a courteous son sort of way, yet as a child of the 80’s who watched too many sitcoms and a person with a neurotic desire for everyone to like me I always aimed higher. But as I’ve segued into middle age it has become clear that Dad always has been, as usual, right on the money. The truth is that most people are merely cordial acquaintances, work colleagues, fellow church parishioners, or pleasant neighbors. There’s nothing wrong with any of those things…they all serve a lovely purpose. The vast majority drift in & out of our lives as the wind blows. Even some who we might have considered friends fade away into the ether. Life takes folks in different directions…physically, emotionally, intellectually, ethically, spiritually. The ties that once bound us together sometimes break…or perhaps gently dissolve…and eventually we come to the realization that we’ve changed, they’ve changed, and there’s not much common ground anymore. My need for everyone to like me has diminished, tempered by a general apathy toward scurrying after people, jumping thru pointless hoops, or compromising my principles to satisfy others. I am who I am…blemishes included. The same can be said for most everyone else. If two people can look past such deficiencies and still maintain a bond that’s awesome, but the reality is that such relationships are rare.
Have you heard about this “church” in Ames, IA?? The 
Christianity”, a direct contradiction of multiple scriptures that teach that there is only one true God, Jesus Christ is who He says he is and doesn’t change with the times (Hebrews 13:8), loving God means that we keep His commandments (1 John 5:3), and that Christians are to be peculiar & different from the sinful world. God hasn’t changed. Heck, not even Satan has changed. It is humanity that has changed. At any rate, kudos to Ms. Johnston for never backing down and putting herself in the line of fire to stand up for God & His Word. I’m not much of an activist myself…it’s just not in my nature. However, I applaud those with the fortitude to jump into the fray.
I am beginning to wrap my head around the reality that part of my purpose in life is to build people up in small ways, to be there for them at low moments. I’m not a rah rah motivational cheerleader kind of guy, but sometimes folks just need a sympathetic ear, nice compliment, keen insight, or moment of levity, and I excel at those things. The seedy underbelly of this…skill…is that in good times…when everything is going alright in their lives…people don’t need me and I am easily tossed aside, like the junk mail that the postman stuffs into your box every day. It is certainly an unpleasant pill to swallow, but what choice do I have??
*I’m not going to defend former President George HW Bush, but to compare a senile 90 year old man in a wheelchair playing grabass with the legit harassment that others have inflicted is asinine and reeks of desperation. It’s a false equivalency.
*There are a few issues with nearly 60 year old Academy Award winning actor Kevin Spacey “coming out”. First, I thought sexual preference was biological and not a choice?? Atleast that’s what promoters of the agenda have always proclaimed. So we are supposed to believe that Spacey has always known “his truth”, but chose to hide it, even in a modern society that not only accepts but celebrates such lifestyles?? This isn’t Rock Hudson in the 1950’s. Strange things are afoot at the Circle K. Either Spacey is ashamed of who he is and has no gay pride, or all of this is a convenient cover for his unearthed pedophilia. Both possibilities are disrespectful to many groups of people.
*I don’t believe in blaming the victim…BUT, allow me to reiterate something I’ve mentioned previously. I find it fascinating that so many who have been vociferously outspoken against President Trump for being kind of a creepy old lech have simultaneously been so quiet for DECADES about even creepier pervs because of power & influence that could help their career. Hey Hollywood…your hypocrisy is shining brightly in that big ol’ spotlight.
like a total assclown with the hostess, becoming all touchy feely with her and generally being the worst drunken frat boy stereotype one could imagine. But the most interesting part of the video to me is when Affleck very plainly pokes fun at handicapped people, specifically those with cerebral palsy. Wasn’t making fun of handicapped people a horrible atrocity less than a year ago?? Again though, apparently if a person leans to the correct side of the political spectrum anything they say or do is completely acceptable. Funny how that works.
It’s a psychological fact that some people enjoy…to a degree…fear. I’m not a scientist and won’t bore you with a bunch of jargon, but there are a couple of reasons for this phenomenon. First, fear triggers the pleasurable release of dopamine, the same thing that happens in our brain during sex. As one article I ran across put it…”Dopamine is love. Dopamine is lust. Dopamine is motivation. Dopamine is attention. Dopamine is addiction.” So adrenaline junkies, drug abusers, folks with a bit of a gambling problem, & nymphomaniacs all have a similar brain chemistry as those who are really into horror movies. I am sure that is an epic oversimplification, but it’s the best I can do. Secondly, there is something called “excitation transfer”, which essentially means that after one gets really scared they calm down, but it’s not just the average everyday calm. When the heart rate levels out, breathing normalizes, & muscles relax one feels an intense sense of relief that is exceedingly positive & enjoyable, and that pleasant feeling is what is remembered about the experience in the long run.
I tell you all of that as a preamble to saying that I am not one of those people. I don’t enjoy being scared. I don’t like horror movies. I couldn’t possibly care less about haunted houses. However, I am rather intrigued with Halloween. I’m a bit of a history buff and have developed somewhat of a fascination with cultural anthropology, folklore, & mythology. I might have explored career options in that general direction if I’d known such pathways existed as a kid. Halloween has a quirky, fun vibe and a peculiar backstory & evolution. I completely understand that many of my fellow Christians choose not to celebrate Halloween, and I respect those opinions. However, there are frivolous elements of the occasion that I rather enjoy. As much as I appreciate a big ol’ bag of candy I am a little too old to go out trick or treating, so instead I’ll keep the lights low in The Bachelor Palace, snuggle with Rocco, and delight in some fantastic Halloween themed entertainment. I’m a bookworm and cannot recommend highly enough Washington Irving’s 1820 short story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Yes, I know there have been countless film & television adaptations, but trust me…read it. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes novella The Hound of the Baskervilles could qualify as Halloween-ish, as could any number of stories written by the late great Ray Bradbury. Tastes vary, but there are worse ways to spend Halloween than curled up with a good book. However, this being the 21st century, many are predisposed to grab the remote and watch a movie or TV show. So sit back, relax, maybe drink a glass of cider & snack on some candy corn as I present…..
work, and this is one of his most iconic roles. He stars as a long dead “freelance bio-exorcist” who is enlisted by a newly dead couple to scare a living family away from their house. Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, & Winona Ryder are in the cast as well, and the film is directed by Tim Burton with music by Danny Elfman…a most impressive crew indeed. It’s an odd amalgamation of comedy & horror that really works. A sequel has been rumored for awhile, but to my knowledge it’s all talk right now.
and is now regarded as a comedy masterpiece. It is a spoof of classic horror films, focusing on the grandson of Dr. Victor Frankenstein…an American named Frederick Frankenstein (which he hilariously pronounces “Fronk-en-steen”) who disavows his crazy family legacy until he inherits the estate in Transylvania. Once Frederick moves into the castle hilarity ensues as he decides to duplicate his grandfather’s infamous experiment. The terrific cast includes Gene Wilder, Teri Garr, Marty Feldman, Peter Boyle, Madeline Kahn, & Cloris Leachman. Gene Hackman makes a brief but hysterical cameo. If, like me, you enjoy a well-written parody you can’t go wrong with Young Frankenstein at Halloween.
2012 offering in which Sandler voices Dracula as he tries (and fails) to keep his daughter away from humanity while hosting her 118th birthday party with many of his famous monster friends in attendance. Selena Gomez is even more beautiful animated than she is in real life (or maybe I’m just really lonely), and a bunch of Sandler’s buddies…Andy Samberg, Kevin James, Steve Buscemi, David Spade, Molly Shannon, Jon Lovitz, et al…add their voices to the fun. A sequel was released in 2015, and a third film is coming in 2018.
After People?? Really??), but once upon a time it actually focused on…duh…history, and occasionally still does (even a broken clock is right twice a day). The original Haunted History of Halloween was first broadcast in 1997 and traces Halloween all the way back to its origins with the Celtic tribes of Medieval Ireland thru an American renaissance of the holiday in the 1950’s and the rise of horror films in the 1980’s. Whether you are determined to view Halloween as a pagan celebration of darkness & death or choose to look at it thru the eyes of innocent children dressing in fun costumes and asking for candy, every angle is presented, all narrated by the mellifluous cadence of newsman Harry Smith. In 2010 History produced an update called The Real History of Halloween, which covers a lot of the same territory, albeit with a more ominous tone and without Smith’s dulcet inflection, as he is replaced by the guy who seems to narrate everything on History (name unknown). Both documentaries are worth your time. Learning really is fun kids…I promise.
Bram Stoker published Dracula in 1897, while Mary Shelley (wife of poet Percy Shelley) wrote Frankenstein way back
in 1818. Both are great novels that have frequently been adapted for the stage & screen. Most movie versions don’t hardly resemble the books at all, but that’s a discussion for another day. Universal Studios produced a collection of horror films in the 1930’s & 40’s with Dracula and Frankenstein featured prominently in many of them, and it all started in 1931 with Dracula starring Bela Lugosi and Frankenstein starring Boris Karloff. Lugosi’s performance as Count Dracula and Karloff’s interpretation of The Monster both set a standard for our pre-conceived notions of those characters. Neither film is all that scary thru the prism of what modern slasher flicks have become, and that’s just fine with me. There are several other creature features in the Universal canon of that particular era, including The Wolf Man, Bride of Frankenstein, The Mummy, & The Invisible Man, that are worth watching if you are so inclined. However, I suggest starting with these two.
Though it may be counterintuitive, it seems like their movies (along with classic stuff from The Three Stooges, Ma & Pa Kettle, The Marx Brothers, and Laurel & Hardy) were on TV with some frequency during my childhood long before there were hundreds of channels or streaming was invented. At any rate, at the height of their popularity Bud Abbott and Lou Costello teamed up with Universal to make a handful of films in which the humorous duo encounter classic monsters. This 1948 offering is the first & best, although later entries like Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man, Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, & Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy are perfectly delightful as well. Contrary to the title the twosome meet more than just Frankenstein’s Monster…Dracula & The Wolf Man are around too. It’s a seamless blend of absurd fun & fear, which is exactly what I like.
just a few years ago, but really, other than 1981’s Halloween II, I don’t care about any of them. The original was written, directed, & produced by John Carpenter (who even composed the legendary theme song) with a $300k budget, which was super low even back then. However, the film made $70 million so everything worked out alright. Actually I think forced frugality did the film (and audience) a favor. Instead of graphic blood & guts Halloween is more suspenseful than scary, perfectly capturing the mood of the titular holiday. I have come to appreciate minimalism in relation to many aspects of life, and with movies I respect directors who show restraint, whether it is an artistic or economic choice. I can count on my hands the number of horror films I have bothered to watch in my four & a half decades on the planet…they’re just not my thing. Among those I have seen Halloween is the only one that I keep coming back to. It’s an annual tradition.
Charles Schulz’s Peanuts comic strip began in the fall of 1950. Fifteen years later Coca-Cola sponsored the first of what would eventually be over fifty Peanuts animated television specials…A Charlie Brown Christmas. After the enormous success of the Christmas program plans were formulated for a different holiday show. The Great Pumpkin first aired on October 27, 1966 and has been warming the cockles of children of all ages ever since. It makes complete sense if you think about it…kids are all about Santa Claus, right?? So why wouldn’t a youngster like Linus Van Pelt desire another mythical gift giver on what is…for most children…the second coolest holiday on the calendar?? Of course we all know that the magic of Santa Claus isn’t possible without agreeable participation from parents, therefore the absence of such adults in the Peanuts universe dictates that the Great Pumpkin mythos is logically doomed. Schultz seemed to have somewhat of a jaded worldview, 
and it shows up throughout Peanuts. These are some cynical little crumb crunchers!! At any rate, everything about The Great Pumpkin is perfect, from Charlie Brown getting nothing but rocks in his trick or treat bag in what has to be the cruelest neighborhood in history, to Snoopy going all Walter Mitty and battling The Red Baron on a flying dog house, to the charmingly vibrant animation & groovy jazz soundtrack. I might be “middle-aged”, but I never hesitate to wave my inner child flag and bask in the glorious glow of nostalgia. The Great Pumpkin is quintessential Halloween, and for that I am thankful.
The Manofesto 